Infrastructure

Background

American infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and stormwater systems, was built without accounting for the current and future impacts of climate change, leaving it highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. As temperatures rise, snowfall increases, and wildfires and flooding become more frequent and intense, many roads and bridges are buckling under the strain. Stormwater systems, designed for different conditions, are often overwhelmed by these more frequent and severe natural disasters. Furthermore, a significant portion of the nation’s dams, many of which pose high-hazard risks, are in critical disrepair. Levees and stormwater systems are also rated poorly for safety and effectiveness. These infrastructure systems, essential to daily life and safety, are struggling to cope with the rapidly changing climate, underscoring the urgent need for substantial investment and modernization.

Solutions

• Policymakers should protect infrastructure investments with enhanced minimum design and resiliency standards. Additionally, proven financial tools such as insurance and catastrophe bonds should be utilized to safeguard infrastructure against unforeseen disasters.
• SmarterSafer advocates for the promotion of the development of climate-resilient infrastructure based on vulnerability assessments using high-quality information and data. This includes programs like the Department of Transportation’s PROTECT grants, as well as FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program – a critical source of pre-disaster mitigation funds.
• Congress should support improving infrastructure resiliency by ensuring that organizations responsible for issuing building codes have access to forward-looking meteorological data, including information on wildfires and other environmental trends. This will allow for the adoption of more effective, future-proof building practices.
• Congress should focus on expanding the federal and state disaster preparedness programs by including the development of community resilient climate infrastructure as a qualified activity under the program(s). This would promote equitable use of pre-disaster mitigation funds and require resiliency goals, including considerations of climate impacts and natural floodplain function benefits, to be included in state hazard mitigation plans, strengthening community preparedness.
• Congress should pass legislation and develop guidance to add a specific definition for ecosystem restoration to the NFIP as well as provide flexibility in FEMA’s no-rise analysis and map review and revision process for ecosystem restoration projects that pose no adverse impact to people or property.